Tech
Techniques, often simply known as tech, are special moves Madeline can do to improve her mountain-climbing ability. They come in a wide range of uses and difficulty. Many can be used for skips or "exploits" to skip sections of a level without needing to collect or progress through the level first.
This page only glosses over the execution and usability of various techniques. For a more detailed explanation visit the 'Main article' link below the tech's name.
Dash Tech
Dash Tech refers to techs that require a dash to use, and tend to be simple yet useful. Most dash techs can be extended, meaning you regain your dash if you jump during the dash refresh window ( between the 10th and 15th frame of the dash ), they also can be reversed, meaning you jump in the opposite direction of your dash. Reversing a tech is a handy way to extend it without much ground room, and as such, reversed + extended tech are only referred to as reversed since it's their main use.
Most of the Dash Techs heights can be controlled depending on how long the jump button is held. The longer it is held, the higher their heights are.
Supers
Supers are the most basic dash techs and allows you to travel in the air with dash speed, although their speed is lower than Hypers ( 260 instead of 325 ) they give higher heights than those.
To do a Super, while on the ground press simultaneously jump and dash.
Extended: Instead of pressing simultaneously dash and jump, dash first and delay the jump, if you jump between the 10th and 15th frame you will get your dash back and still have it while in the air.
Reversed: Dash in one direction, but jump in the opposite direction, which can be done by switching the direction you hold right before jumping. Madeline will Super in the opposite direction.
Variant - Mid-Air Super: You can perform Supers from mid-air. While in the air, dash unto a platform and jump off of it ( examples seen on the gif ).
Hypers
Hypers are one of the fastest way to move around, They give Madeline a higher speed than Supers ( 325 instead of 260 ) but give a lower height than them.
To do a Hyper, dash diagonally down while on the ground and press jump simultaneously.
Extended: Instead of pressing simultaneously dash and jump, dash first and delay the jump, if you jump between the 10th and 15th frame you will get your dash back and still have it while in the air.
Reversed: Dash in one direction, but jump in the opposite direction, which can be done by switching the direction you hold right before jumping. Madeline will Hyper in the opposite direction.
Variant - Mid-Air Hyper: See Demohypers below.
Wavedashes
Wavedashes are one of the most common tech and are similar to Hyperdashes since they both give the same horizontal speed ( 325 ) and the same height but are used in differents situations, they're mostly used as a way to gain horizontal speed from mid-air on small platforms where you wouldn't be able to do an extended. They indeed give your dash back if you jump between the 10th and the 15th frame of your dash.
To do a Wavedash, dash diagonally down towards the ground and press jump as you hit the ground, note that if you're close to the ground you'll want to slightly delay the jump to get the dash refresh.
Reversed: After dashing unto the ground, jump in the opposite direction of your dash.
Ultras
Tutorial: Aiden
After Madeline dashes down-diagonally, she gains a 1.2x multiplier to her horizontal speed upon touching the ground. Another unique property of down-diagonal dashes is that unlike every other dash, a down-diagonal will not reset Madeline's speed to 0 if it ends in mid-air. What this means is that a player can dash down-diagonally with a significant amount of speed and, as long as the dash ends in midair, maintain all of that speed until she hits the ground, at which point it will be multiplied by 1.2x, allowing very high speeds to be reached on the right terrain.
The simplest and most common way to perform an Ultra is to perform a hyperdash and down-diagonally dash as soon as possible. The dash must end before Madeline touches the ground in order to maintain the momentum, so players should start from high enough up that the dash will end before they land. It is usually important to jump just after you touch the ground in order to lose as little speed to friction as possible. Players should aim not to buffer the jump input, (because this has a high likelihood of preventing the 1.2x boost) and instead try to press jump just after landing on the ground. To maintain the maximum speed with the ultradash, players should also aim to down-diagonally dash as soon as possible after the initial Hyper ( or other speed gain ).
Grounded Ultras : Grounded ultras are the fastest way to move on flat terrain ( 390 speed optimally ), dashing down-diagonally while on or very close to the ground will still give the 1.2x speed boost but all speed will be lost when the dash ends.
To perform a Grounded Ultra do an extended Hyper and down-diagonally dash as soon as possible ( extended Super also works but is slower ) which will result in a dash with 390 speed optimally and floor correction if dashing in the first two frames after jumping, because this is essentially the same input as a Hyper ( a down-diagonal dash into the ground ), players can jump before the dash ends to Hyper and be given 325 speed and Hyper height, this can be chained infinitely on flat terrain by simply down-diagonally dashing again after jumping ( it's more optimal to jump as late as possible, on the 14th frame optimally ).
Variant - Chained Ultras: Multiple Ultras can be done in a row. This requires a very specific terrain in order to be possible, but can quickly reach incredible speeds due to the multiplicative speed gain of Ultras.
Demodash (Demo)
Demodashes, are a technique that allow the player to dash with the crouched hitbox ( 4 pixels instead of 9 ), allowing you to slip through spinners, dust bunnies, and other obstacles unharmed if the gap between them is at least 4 pixels.
You can bind a Demo button in game since the 1.4.0.0 version of the game. You can manually do Demos by pressing down before (within 4 frames or 0.068 seconds) - but not during - a dash, there is no advantages to doing them manually but it can be the only way to do them if you're playing on a console with a version prior to 1.4.0.0.
Variant - Demohyper: Jumping during a Demo will result in a Hyper, because of the crouched state needed for the Demo in the first place. Their main use is that they allow you to start a hyper from mid-air. Demohypers have a higher dash speed ( 240 instead of 169) than regular Hypers since they're horizontal and not diagonal dashes, this can make them harder/impossible to extend in some cases.
Wallbounces
Wallbounces are a tech mainly used to gain height. They are functionally identical to Supers, but are performed by doing an updash. Unlike Supers, they will not restore your dash as you aren't touching the ground.
To do a Wallbounce, dash up and walljump during the dash duration. It is to be noted that Wallbounces vertical speed are slightly lower than the updash vertical speed, as such wallbouncing as late as possible is more optimal in order to gain height.
Variant - Bubble Wallbounce: Wallbounces can be performed directly out of a green bubble without dashing if the bubble is launched upwards.
Dashless Tech
Dashless Tech refers to techs that don't need a dash to use, and tend to be complex or precise.
Bunnyhop (Bhop)
A bnnyhop is loosely defined as jumping as soon as Madeline hits the ground. Because there is more friction on the ground than in the air, bunnyhops allow Madeline to conserve speed over longer distances.
Bunnyhops are often used after a Wavedash or an Hyper in order to get a greater height than a Wavedash or Hyper on top of keeping their speed.
Variant - Chained Bunnyhop: Because each jump gives Madeline a short burst of speed ( +40 speed ), repeating bunnyhops is the fastest method of dashless movement along flat ground.
Cornerkick
Cornerkicks are wallkicks of corners when Madeline pass right under them, they give a little bit of height when it's needed and are moderately easy to learn.
To cornerkick, jump towards the corner, and press Jump again when you're right next to the corner.
Cornerkicks can be neutral, you simply need to stop holding directions before doing the cornerkick.
Crouch Jump/Climb
Crouch Jumps will allow you to get into comfy 1x1 (or 1 tile high) areas. If crouching before a jump, Madeline will remain crouched while jumping; and can climb while still being crouched.
To do this, jump while holding crouch. You can throw a grab into the mix and climbjump at the same time. If you begin falling down, Madeline will uncrouch automatically.
Neutral Jump (Neutral)
Neutrals are one of the most fundamental dashless techs. They allow Madeline to scale flat and uneven walls alike without using any stamina, even with downward wind.
To do a Neutral, jump off of the wall without holding directional keys, then immediately move towards the wall again. Rinse and repeat to keep moving up. The jumps can be delayed to stay in place.
5 Jump
When Madeline grabs the top of a wall, she will slide down a significant amount and not be able to climb up further. However, you still can climbjump or wallkick off the top of the wall. A 5jump is executed by using a neutral climbjump to reach the top of the wall ( that is, a climbjump that solely goes upward) and then jumping or climbjumping off of it. This technique allows to climbjump over a 5 tile gap.
Variant - 6 Jump: See Cornerboost below.
Cornerboost
Cornerboosts are easier done with dashes, but can be done dashless. They are arguably an exploit that grants height and can also give horizontal speed; when climbjumping on the top of a corner with horizontal momentum, they allow Madeline to conserve all of her previous momentum, while gaining +40 speed if the climbjump is done before touching the wall. They also cancel dashes, which means that the speed of the dash is preserved instead of being stopped at the end of the dash. If going above 180 speed, it isn't assured that you can climbjump before touching the wall even if you're buffering it, meaning that above that speed you're not guaranteed to get the +40 horizontal speed gain. diagonal dashes from standing still are below that threshold and as such, you're guaranteed to get the speed gain if you buffer your climbjump, this isn't the case with horizontal dashes sinces they're above that threshold.
Variant - 6 Jump: 6 Jumps utilize cornerboosts as a dashless tech, where a 5 jump is done while already having horizontal momentum. To do a 6 Jump, get some horizontal motion to the wall corner and climbjump on it, as if you were doing the second half of a 5 jump. A cornerboost will be done instead, going 6 tiles.
Throwable Backboost (Backboost)
Throwing an object in the opposite direction Madeline is moving gives her a small initial speed boost. Performing an Ultra directly after will utilize this extra speed and launch Madeline even faster.
Entity Tech
Entity Tech refers to using blocks or entities of various kinds (and their respective mechanics) to do specifically useful techs.
Dream Jump
Dream Jumps grant a small upwards (but mostly horizontal) speed boost when exiting Dream Blocks. Simply press Jump as you leave the dream block. This technique is taught by a bird in the Old Site B-Side.
Dream Double-Jump: Spamming the jump button twice right as Madeline makes it out of the dream block allows for a longer jump than a normal dream jump.
Core Boost
By jumping off a fire core block a few frames after it breaks, you can gain an additional boost of speed, about 1.2-1.5x.
Core Super / Hyper
Using the same logic of Dream Supers/Hypers, you can get a very large amount of speed and height by inputting one of these techs at the last few frames (coyote frames) of the core block's launch.
Fish / Bumper / Seeker Boost
All of these entities provide a large amount of momentum when used in a certain way (Getting near them, Touching them, and Stunning them, respectively), but share a common mechanic. When holding in the same direction as Madeline is boosted, you will gain an extra boost of speed; about 1.5x to 2x.
Jelly/Theo Regrabs
Throw the throwable in front of you, then updiagonal Dash to pick it up again, giving you a boost. Theo Regrabs are considerably harder than Jelly Regrabs.
Jellyvator / Theovator (-vator)
Elevators rely on the fact that holding down while releasing Grab will simply drop the item Madeline is holding, rather than throwing it. After dropping an item, dash upwards into it and grab the item again. The dash will be cancelled and some of the dash momentum preserved, giving Madeline some more height.
Note: Throwables appear to give more height the later they are grabbed. This is not due to a difference in the amount of momentum preserved from cancelling the dash, but simply due to Madeline being higher up when the dash is actually cancelled. Theo crystals will provide less height than Jellyfish, since holding a jelly lowers Madeline's gravity.
Oshiro / Snowball / Seeker / Fish Jump
Holding jump when landing on top of Oshiro, a snowball, a pufferfish, or a seeker will give Madeline a significant amount of height compared to not pressing jump, and also preserve some of Madeline's horizontal momentum. Madeline's dash and stamina will also be restored whether or not you press jump.
Contacting the top of one of these entities will also cancel Madeline's dash, preserving some of the momentum from the dash. For this reason, dashing horizontally parallel to one of these entities and jumping is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "Fish super", "Snowball super", and so on, despite mechanically not being in any way related to a superdash.
Bubble Super / Hyper
This can only be performed if the bubble is level with the ground Madeline is standing on. Dash right into the bubble, and before you enter the bubble, very quickly input a hyper/super (not extended). The bubble will then launch you with the momentum of either a hyper or a super, depending on which one you used.
Cloud Jump / Spiked Cloud Jump
Rather than jumping with a cloud, Madeline only needs to jump when the cloud is at its highest position. If there are spikes or other hazards under the cloud, Jump quickly to push the cloud down, then Jump again as it comes up.
Cloud Super/Hyper
Just like on the ground, Madeline can do a super or hyper off of clouds; although the timing is a bit more precise.
Just input a super or hyper as you bounce up.
Binoculars Clip (Bino Clip)
In order to reduce strain on the game, when using binoculars, the game will unload spinners that aren't currently visible; allowing Madeline to dash or even walk through them with total safety (at least until they load back in). To do this, look in the binoculars, move them as far away as you can (or enough to unload the spinners), then quickly leave and dash through the spinners.
Archie
Tutorial: Flesh117
An "Archie" is entering a bubble with a crouched hitbox (from any direction), which will move the bubble up by two pixels. This is most often performed with a demodash, but can also be done simply using a duck jump.
Obscure Tech
Obscure tech is possible within the vanilla level layout, but has extremely specific/niche uses. Most obscure tech is very difficult to perform.
Spike Jump
Spikes and their surface have a short (sub-pixel dependent) window where they can be jumped on, provided there is wind pushing you towards the spikes or the spikes are moving towards you.
In order to jump on them, Madeline needs to be moving away from them (at least aimed away) in the window where you can input a jump. Jumping off of spikes on the ground (not walls) will restore your stamina, but not your dash.
Up Diagonal Demodash (Diag Demo)
It is also possible to Up Diag Demodash with the demo button. It reduces Madeline's hitbox and hurtbox and allows for easier cornerkick, this can be done by doing the diag demo unto the ceiling that precedes the corner, after the end of the dash Madeline's hitbox will return to normal and make the cornerkick possible if madeline is close enough to the corner. It also has a few others uses.
Up Demodash (Updemo)
You can also perform a demo updash, it can be used to perferm demo wallbounces which gives a slightly higher height if buffered against a corner.
Dream Super/Hyper
Instead of simply jumping out of dreamblocks, a Hyper or Demohyper ( which has a slightly bigger window ) can be done in the few frames right as you leave the dream block. This has a much higher horizontal speed than a regular dreamjump but gives less height. Note that unlike the dream jump(s), this does not give your dash back, as it is used after exiting the dream block and requires a dash.
Waterboost
When you are on the surface of water, it is possible to jump multiple times with each jump giving +40 speed. Humans can generally only do two or three jumps, while TAS can jump on every single frame, achieving absurd amounts of speed.
Jelly Laddering
Using two jellyfishes, Madeline can grab one after the other to get incrementally small speed boosts and begin to move upwards.
With two jellyfishes, rapidly spam grab.
Lava climbing
Lava is technically a wall, and therefore has a pixel-perfect window where you can climb up it with either climbjumps or neutral jumps. Additionally, you can even wallbounce off of lava. The frame window for this tech can be extended by Jump Buffering. Just don't get too close, as it will still hurt to touch!
Ceiling Pop
When Madeline grabs a wall with downward momentum, she slides down a tiny amount. If she grabs the bottom pixel of a wall while she has a low enough subpixel, she will slide below the wall while still being able to climbjump for one frame. Because there is no wall in the way, this climbjump will give Madeline forwards momentum.
Bubsdrop
The use of a wallkick or a climbjump in order to cancel the upwards momentum gained from going into a vertical screen transition, so that you don't land on a one-way jumpthrough platform and can return to the previous room. Upon re-entering the original room, your spawnpoint will be set to the nearest available spot. In 5B, this trick is used to skip a significant portion of the Central Chamber checkpoint.
Delayed Ultra
Cancelling a down-diagonal dash before it hits the ground will not remove the flag that tells the game to give Madeline a 1.2x speed boost when she next touches the ground. This is usually done using a cornerboost, or by grabbing a throwable object. Any other method of cancelling a dash (such as bopping a snowball) will still provide a delayed ultra, but will likely slow Madeline down enough that the 1.2x speed boost is negligible.
An iconic example of a RTA delayed ultra is used in the Awake checkpoint of Old Site, where runners build up massive amounts of speed utilising a delayed ultra, multiple cornerboosts, and multiple chained ultradashes.
Reverse Cornerboost
A reverse cornerboost is executed by climbjumping towards a vertical corner that is behind Madeline. This cancels a dash and conserves momentum in the same way as a normal cornerboost, but the +40 speed from jumping is applied in the opposite direction, slowing Madeline down slightly. This is mostly done to cancel an up-diagonal dash and is still beneficial because more than 40 speed is conserved from the dash. This was originally considered TAS-only tech but has been implemented by high-level players, especially in IL runs.
Neutral Reverse Cornerboost
A neutral reverse cornerboost allows you to not lose any speed compared to a regular reverse cornerboost, you must hold neutral directions while performing the reverse cornerboost, this can be done by pressing the opposite direction and then going neutral before making the cornerboost, making madeline face the corner. Since this is a neutral cornerboost, pressing the opposite direction madeline is facing within 11 frames will cause a wallboost.
Spiked Cornerboost
A cornerboost done on a corner which has spikes on one or two adjacent surfaces. A notable example of a spiked cornerboost that has spikes on both adjacent surfaces is the "Dreadcorner" strat in Mirror Temple, a spiked cornerboost which skips the same rooms that Bubsdrop does.
Wallboost
Pressing away from a wall 11 frames or less after neutral climbjumping will cause to refund the stamina cost from the climbjump the jump is converted into a wallkick 'after the fact'. However, unlike a normal wallkick, you are not prevented from pressing towards the wall again to quickly return to it. This allows staminaless climbing but is only faster than neutral jumps when performed optimally by a TAS. It has other uses, mainly in beating stamina puzzles and for some strats such as the second berry in 3A. Performing a wallboost will cause falling blocks to instantly fall since you stop grabbing the wall, but allow you to regrab them significantly faster than you could with a neutral jump or real wallkick.
If you do a wallboost while grabbing a wall but also touching the floor, you will still be 'refunded' the stamina from a climbjump despite not having used any for the original climbjump. This means you will have 138 stamina where Madeline's maximum stamina is supposed to be 110, allowing you to do five climbjumps before running out instead of four.
Modded Tech
Modded Tech can't be done in the base game due to the level design, but can be found in modded levels. The tech still exists in vanilla, there just isn't a way to perform it.
Dream Wallbounce
Wallbounces can be inputted in the few frames after leaving a dream block, similar to supers and hypers.
Dream Redirect
Dream blocks only restore your dash upon exit, so while inside, you have 0 dashes. If dash crystals are placed inside of dream blocks, you can restore your dash - and even use it - while inside the dream block. Doubledash crystals also act the same as normal.
Mechanics
These "techs" were added primarily to make the game feel smoother and more forgiving to play, but can be taken advantage of.
Screen Transition
When transitioning between two screens, Madeline's dash(es) and stamina are restored.
Fastfalling (Fastfall)
Holding down while in midair will cause Madeline to fall faster ( 240 speed instead of the regular 160 falling speed ) after a short acceleration.
Coyote Time/Jump
Madeline is allowed to jump for 5 frames (roughly 0.1 seconds) after she last touched the ground. This includes performing super and hyperdashes.
Fastbubbling
Pressing Dash while inside a stationary bubble will make it move sooner ( this can be buffered ).
Directional Spikes
Spikes will not hurt Madeline if she is travelling away from them or in the direction that they point. This is the method behind Spikejumps and one-way gates.
Input Buffering
Attempting to perform an action while it is not currently possible will "buffer" or store the input for the next 5 frames. If the action becomes possible within those 5 frames, Madeline will instantly perform it. For example, if you press jump slightly before landing on the ground, Madeline will jump on the first possible frame. This is notably used to execute techniques instantly after a screen transition or to turn frame perfect tricks into 5 frame windows, and can be done with almost every action in the game ( Buffering Ultras might not grant the x1.2 speed boost because you can jump off the ground without landing on it depending on your y pixel ).
TAS-Only Tech
This is tech that is impossible for a human to perform, and as such is only possible in Tool-Assisted Speedruns. Note that multiple techniques such as Ceiling Pops are largely TAS-only due to the precision involved, but can be performed by humans under the right circumstances.
Half Stamina Climbing
For a straight vertical wall, immediately after performing a wallboost, there are 2 frames where Madeline is still close enough to the wall to jump off of it. Climbjumping gives you +40 speed back towards the wall, allowing you to return to the wall sooner at the cost of stamina. This combination of a wallboost and a climbjump uses the stamina of one climbjump, but gives the height of two.
This tech can be made a bit more RTA viable by binding a key to left, right, and jump. After climbjumping away from the wall to wallboost, pressing the new keybind within 2 frames makes Madeline turn around and climbjump.
Madeline can also neutral within the 2 frames after a wallboost. This does not consume stamina and allows Madeline to climb faster than using only neutral jumps.
A good example of this tech in use is in the 100% TAS when obtaining the heart in 6A.
Trivia
- 1A - Dashless tech is used extensively for 1A's Winged Berry. The Cornerkick named "Coffee Jump" refers to the Cornerkick in the room with the coffee shop in the background.
- 2A - Screen Transitions are used to obtain 2A's Crystal Heart.
- 3A - The Elevator Shaft Demo strategy in 3A requires a Demodash, however there are also other rooms in the game that it's still useful in.
- The bird will tell you multiple techs throughout the game. Notably: Dashing, in Prologue; Dream Jumps, in Old Site B; Wallbounces, in Summit B; and Hyperdashes, in Core C. The game will teach Wavedashes to the player in Farewell.
- The Demodash was discovered by the player DemoJameson on October 14, 2018. It was subsequently named after him.